volcanoes and beach

El Salvador Travel Blog

Jonathan and I finally crossed into El Salvador (not kicked out this time) with fake license plate and fake car title. No problems at all!!

And straight away i had to let out and "awww" and an "ahhh" and so many random sounds to follow through the trip as i lost breath admiring then beauty of El Salvador. I did not know much about El Salvador but it seems more affluent, modern and so beautiful and compact.

First stop was La Palma. this is a small town and gorgeous. all the buildings are painted a colour, design or with a floral / mountain town / christ design, one that had been taught by a painter of the town and is now mass produced by the people. the town has small buildings lining the cobblestone streets and is surrounded by mountains.... awwww.

From here we drove up the steep rough road to El Pital the highest volcano in El Salvador to tick it off the list. We did another hike up there on the mountain that crossed a 20m deep crevasse by a log that had fallen across the gap. So scary. i was a definite tree hugger there for a moment as i inched my way across with jonathan having a good laugh at my expense. But worth the crossing (there and back might i add) for the view. El Salvador is a small country but covered in volcanoes and mountain ranges reaching towards the pacific. From El Pital we can see for 100´s of miles and it is stunning.

Tonight we stay on top of the world, or what feels like it. At Miramundo (look at the world) we rugged up in 2 layers of pants, 2 shirts, 2 jumpers, scarf, and a candle to warm the fingers and we are still cold. We are still under 2000m but it is freezing. And we watched the sun set over the mountains in the distance. The rages and volcanoes just layer away to the horizon below us, blue in the distance. It is one of the most beautiful places i have ever been. Plus the wine and tequila shots warmed us up :)

The next beautiful place, and El Salvador is just one beautiful place after the other ... awww.... is Lake Coatepeque where many San Salvadoreans visit. It is a massive crater lake, about 3km across. The water is so blue and it is surrounded by a couple of volcanoes. We climb Volcan Izalco which is the volcano you imagine. perfect cone shape and only black volcanic rock and sand. The youngest in Central America. It was a tough climb, sliding back on the loose rock, but a great view at the top, and the volcano seems so primal. Most are covered in trees and ou cannot imagine them forming, but this volcano still does not look like it belongs above ground. The we run back down through the loose volcanic sand, ankle deep and sliding down a metre for every step. The best way down..

And to the coast, El Zonte, only a couple of hours drive away. The beaches are black sand and the waves are a bit smaller now, but it is normally a great and less visited surf destination. But the first place we meet gringoes in El Salvador. I try my hand at surfing, with the latino guide visually demonstrating and yelling ¨vamos! vamos!¨ when getting me onto a wave. I was pretty crap admittedly, which i will blame on messy waves, a too small board and anything else i can think of.... It was fun but we plan to try more elsewhere.

The last stop in El Salvador is Allegria which is another cute town in the mountains. We stay in a log cabin and enjoy the view over ES again. We walk to a crater lake which is stunning - a real emerald green. Its pretty cold, but we find some hot water coming through the ground in the lake, strip off (trying not to let others see our white bums) and find the warm spots of sulphur water. Its crazy that after all this time of inactivity the heat still makes its way to the surface.

And now through the pain of the border to Honduras, to Nicaragua, what a day!